Rev. Ted Haggard Says He Was Never Anti-Gay (Snort)

Christian conservatives are not only adept at revising the US Constitution to fit their agenda, they're also pretty darn good at reinvinting their own personal history.  Case in point - Ted Haggard, who now claims that he was never anti-gay.  Since the newly-heterosexualized pastor says so, it must be true, right? 

Alex Seitz-Wald on Think Progress provides Haggard's backstory:  Before resigning in disgrace after a three-year relationship with a male prostitute, Ted Haggard was one of the Christian Right’s most powerful figures — president of the National Association of Evangelicals and a close confidante of the Bush White House. Haggard, now purportedly “completely heterosexual,” hosted a prayer meeting at his Colorado home last night in an attempt to mount a comeback, attracting 110 people. Saying “America loves a scandal, but they love a comeback even more.”  (I don't know how much "love" Haggard thinks he's receiving if he can only draw a hundred people for his "comeback," but evangelicals are nothing if not delusionally optimistic.)

Russel Haythorn at The Denver Channel writes a puff piece about Haggard, where every word spoken by the now arrow-straight minister is treated as gospel truth.  You'll recall that Pastor Ted was banished to Arizona by the same mega-church he founded.  In the Grand Canyon State, Haggard sold insurance door-to-door and starred in a fawning documentary called "The Trials of Ted Haggard."  Well, he's finally returned to Colorado where he hopes to offer succor to the disciples he left behind.  He'll be preaching in a barn.  Writes Haythorn:  In an exclusive television interview with 7NEWS, Haggard said many great revivals happened out in a field or in a barn, and that's what he's hoping for this time around.  Haggard said since his return to Colorado Springs, people seem to be more accepting of him. "We are very pleased with the process that's happened in us since we've been home. People are very sympathetic to the fact that I had 22 years of wonderful days at New Life Church. I had a really bad time and got myself into trouble, and I did that to me - nobody did it to me. And then there's resurrection," said Haggard. (Resurrection?  Really?  Aiming a little high, methinks.)  ... Haggard said his struggles parallel those in the Bible. "Most of the primary characters of the Bible had horrible, horrible incidents in their lives. David misused his power to murder people. He was an adulterer.  (Interesting choice of reference here.  First Samuel, 18:3,4... "And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt."  Well that certainly doesn't leave much to the imagination.  From Second Samuel 1:27... "David loved Jonathan more than women."  And let's face it, King David loved women a lot.)  Haggard also said he was never an anti-gay hateful preacher. Yet for some reason, he said that's the image that has been portrayed.  (Amanda Terkel posts video that shows Haggard being an anti-gay hateful preacher.)  "I was always well aware of my own personal struggles, but my desire was to be more Godly," said Haggard.  (Try telling the truth, Ted.  And lose the hubris-masked-as-piety.)  Haggard said he believes he had a gay affair with an escort from Denver because of an incident in the 2nd grade where one of his father's employees had an encounter with him.  (Children who are molested do not automatically turn gay.  They do, however, sometimes grow up to be child molesters themselves.  If Haggard was abused when he was a youngster, that is undeniably tragic.  But it did not effect his sexual orientation, however good an excuse he might think that makes.) 

Growing up in East Texas, I was exposed to a preacher exactly like Ted Haggard.  Same hell-fire with a smile, same ingratiating manner, same goofy grin concealing bigotry.  If Haggard wants to live his life as a heterosexual and his wife doesn't mind playing The Pretend Game with him, more power to them.  He has already lost the respect of the Fundie Bunch.  That's gone forever.  But there's a good chance the LGBT community and our straight allies would have forgiven him - and even embraced him, beard and all - if only he had manned up and ADMITTED that in the past he preached hurtful things like this:  "It would be devastating for the children of our nation and for the future of Western civilization for us to say that homosexual unions or lesbian unions or any alteration of that has the moral equivalence of a heterosexual, monogamous marriage."  Sorry, Ted, but saying that committed same-sex couples will "devastate" Western Civilization is anti-gay hate, and it requires a sincere apology.

In his resignation letter to the New Life Church, Haggard called himself a "deceiver and liar."  His self-serving interview with The Denver Channel tells us that nothing has changed.  But hey, good luck with that barn ministry thing.

Comments

[Amanda]

Ted Ted Ted, I wish we knew how to quit you.

[Trent]

Yeah, of all the figures in the Bible he chooses to compare himself to David. Freudian slip?

[barrett skul]

his church was in Colorado, i know i live here with his freaky ass